Traditional eyewear included fixed length temple bodies. Because such temple bodies were fixed in length, users were either forced to search for eyewear that included temple bodies of the proper length or order custom eyewear.
More recent advances in eyewear design have provided temple bodies manufactured to be adjustable to provide for a proper fit to each individual. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,320 to Specht et al. describes protective eyewear with temple bodies that may be adjusted in length. The temple bodies are adjusted by inserting a post (or temple tip) into a sleeve in which nubs, on the post, compress a slotted spring allowing guide tabs to enter the sleeve and move back and forth. The nubs may engage a series of ports to hold the temple body. Another is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,310 to Moetteli. This patent describes eyewear with a wrap-around temple portion and a temple portion adjustment mechanism. The temple portion adjustment mechanism is utilized by sliding a beam along an axis of the straight section of the wrap-around temple portion.
While these designs do allow for some temple adjustment, the temple tips are prone to slip from the desired position. Additionally, such adjustment mechanisms often become ineffective after short usage due to stripping of the temple tip.
There exists a need in the eyewear art to create a durable and adjustable temple body that is easily manipulated and securely locks into place.